How To Manage Your Over-Ambitious Dreams as a Wholehearted Creative

Being ambitious and dreaming as a big heart is AWESOME and I wouldn’t change it for the world. But, just like everything else in life, there’s this little thing called balance.

Friend, if you’ve been hustling with heart and need a little real talk and inspiration to help manage those over-ambitious dreams (and overwhelm, self doubt, etc.), grab a cuppa.

I’m sharing a few things that are helping me manage my ambitious goals and take the stress out of dreaming TOO BIG.

Let’s chat.

THE DARK SIDE OF BEING TOO AMBITIOUS

(Sounds a bit iffy I know, but hear me out quick…)

Tell me if you can relate to feeling like you’re either: never doing enough (even when you’re giving it your all) – or having this weird FOMO, like if you don’t follow through on a goal right NOW, you’ve missed your chance and you’ll regret it FOREVER.

Hi, over-ambition.

Aaaaah… It’s like we’ve got all these amazing ideas that we just want to pour into the world, create some kind of positive impact and actually use the gifts we’ve been given, or the skills we’ve learned ASAP.

But you know, I’m learning more and more that along with having this wild ambition, creativity and wanting to do good in the world, there comes a certain responsibility.

A responsibility to LOOK AFTER ourselves.

Seriously… contradictory to what some ‘girl boss’ Instagram feeds will have you believe, being ambitious doesn’t mean hustling your health into the ground. And it doesn’t mean slaying into all hours of the night so that you’re a constant walking zombie every day, either.

Let’s please stop glorifying this “slay”, “hustle”, working after hours BS.
And calling this “success.”

It’s not.

Success is knowing how to MANAGE ambition with self care.

Success is knowing how to PRIORITISE goals with what’s important right now.

Success is looking after our HEALTH while we navigate our passions.

Now that that’s out of the way (just had to get that off my chest because it really irks me!), let’s look at realistic ways to manage this wholehearted ambition – without the crazy overwhelm.

7 WAYS TO MANAGE YOUR OVER-AMBITIOUS DREAMS

1. Be more flexible with your goals

Ever map out your big plans for the day and then feel like a complete failure by the end of it because you didn’t check everything off? Fun times. I did this for years, until earlier this year when I heard about UNDER-planning your day. As in, just setting 3 top priorities for the day and the rest (3-4) can be mini bonus tasks.

My gosh, I swear – this way of planning my day has cut my overwhelm in half!

I also make a point of being more flexible these days. I used to feel like a failure if I didn’t get something done on that exact day in that exact time frame. Absolutely ridiculous, I know. Because unexpected things have a way of just popping up… that’s life.

Now I make a point of giving myself EXTRA “breathing” room for goals and tasks.

For example, if something usually takes me an hour, I block off 90 minutes for it. If I have a big goal, (like the one I’m on now to get fit again #IYProject180) – I gave myself WAY MORE time than I usually would (6 months, because that’s more realistic than 2-3 months which I’d normally have planned!)

3. Don’t try to be a Jenna Kutcher from the get go

Look, I LOVE listening to entrepreneurs and their life/success tips – and most of it really inspires me. But wow, it’s SO easy to get wrapped up in what one of them is suggesting and feel like you’ve got to follow their way of doing things.

Embarrassing confession: I actually based my earlier blog re-brand off of Melissa Griffith’s design and messages. Whoops. Happens to the best of us, I guess. It was a good lesson to learn though.

Here’s the other thing I think a lot of us creative hearts tend to forget sometimes…

MANY famous entrepreneurs have a WHOLE team helping them.

Yup. I mean, it’s not Jenna Kutcher on her own making waves. It’s not Gary Vaynerchuk or Marie Forleo doing their thing solo. They EMPLOY people to help them do what they do best.

They have an entire TEAM helping them run their business.

Some suggestions to help avoid the comparison/copy “trap”:

Don’t compare your RIGHT NOW, to someone else’s five years from now

Start small – start where you are with what you have and give yourself permission to GROW

Embrace the journey and the newness of your dreams and goals; it’s exciting!

Celebrate the small wins and document them so you can look back on them one day

Sure, get inspired by successful entrepreneurs or brands out there, they can teach us a lot. But please, for the love of all that is good, don’t try and be a Jenna Kutcher (or Melissa Griffin!) in one day when you’re just starting out!

That’s just an open invitation for overwhelm and frustration.

4. Create more white space in your life

Tell me if this resonates with you: you find a block of a time in your week, say two hours and you think, “Great! I’m going to squeeze xyz into those hours and get more of my stuff done! YAY!!!!”

Sounds good, right? More time to work on your big dreams. What a gift.

Yes and no…

You see, when you fill your days with all this creativity and work, it takes its toll. Especially if you’re working on a passion project or something close to your heart.

They’re called FREE moments for a reason. We shouldn’t be filling them with more work, even if it’s our creative endeavours or passion projects. Just my two cents from what I’ve experienced.

Instead, how about giving yourself permission for some DOWN TIME?

Time to just chill out and relax.

I mean seriously, when last did you take a nap? Watch a chick flick by yourself? Go shopping for fun? Take a walk in nature? I could go on and on… this “white space” is such a massive gift, my friend. It’s like this space we get to just re-energise and recharge those creative batteries.

5. Be your own best friend and cheerleader

As wholehearted creatives, we pour so much of ourselves into what we do, and we do it for others… to help them, inspire them, and encourage them. And while we’d love it if everyone who saw our work gave us some kudos (shared our work, commented, etc.), it doesn’t always happen. I guess it’s like that in any field really.

So it’s up to us to be our own cheerleaders and to celebrate the small wins.

I actually talk to myself sometimes (when I’m home alone…) and say things like, “Great job, Mel! You go girl!” I know… I KNOW, it sounds a little cookoo, but I swear it makes me feel good and a little empowered actually! It makes a massive difference to my mindset.

On that note… we’ve got to be our own best friends too.

It’s no good “patting” yourself on the back for a job well done and then looking in the mirror and telling yourself how ugly you look today. It just doesn’t work.

I’m using this awesome positive affirmation app right now called “Affirmations.” Every day I get a positive message and it just helps boost my mood and self esteem a bit. I share this a lot in my Instagram stories.

6. Filter your online community and support network

Listen, I know sometimes it can be a little discouraging to see how amazing some people’s lives appear to be right now. And yes, I know that we often don’t see the whole picture, but it can affect us negatively if we let it. I mean, just Google “Instagram + depression” and you’ll see what I’m talking about. So…

I’m being super conscious of what I allow onto my social media feeds and who I allow into my life.

As far as the feeds go – I unfollow people who make me feel bad or who come across as pretentious and full of themselves. That’s just not my cup of tea really.

As a wholehearted creative (nevermind INFJ and empath), I need to feel like I can connect with the people who show up in my online space.

I tend to follow people I feel I could have a cup of coffee with in real life.

CONNECTION.

Authentic conversations… and let me tell you, I’m loving Instagram right now for that. DMs and genuine comments on posts… that’s magic right there! (Btw, did you know that you can also ‘mute’ certain Instagram stories? I didn’t till the other day. That’s pretty interesting).

I’m also making a point of giving my time and energy to people who support me unconditionally.

I know we’re all busy and I don’t expect everyone I know to share my creative work, obviously. I just mean, I’m paying special attention to the ones who clap at my small wins (like launching a new website or a product I’ve worked hard on). I think that’s important and I make a conscious effort to do the same.

I’m focusing a LOT less on the ones who choose to stay silent for whatever reason. Life is short, so focus your energy on where it matters most and where it’s received with an open, genuine heart.

7. Switch things up… or break the rules a little

I don’t know who put the “rule” out there that you’ve got to blog EVERY single week.

Maybe if that’s your job and you’re getting paid for it I guess?

But if it’s something you’re prioritising over family time, health and what not (this was me until recently) and it’s a passion project that’s making you forget why you started in the first place… something isn’t aligning right.

Now I only blog every 2-3 weeks (because *ahem,* just look at the length here… I’m trying to make them shorter!) and I send an email to my community every alternative week – these are like mini personalised blog posts. And you know what? It’s working so well! I’m WAY more productive, I don’t feel burned out, and I feel like the quality of my content has improved a lot. Because it’s quality that’s important, not quantity these days.

With so much noise online, it’s important to try and stand out and own your space by being YOU – and doing what works for you.

Find ways to simplify what you’re doing right now…

Things that are making you feel overwhelmed. Switch up those rules!
Break them. Make your own.

Before you go…

Sometimes as ambitious hearts and creatives, we really are our own worst enemies.

We put waaaay too much pressure on ourselves and expect absolute miracles almost immediately. Remind yourself and remind yourself OFTEN… you are doing the best you can with what you have right now. Own it, embrace YOU and where you’re at right now in your journey, and give yourself more breaks, beautiful big heart.

Those dreams WILL happen just as they’re meant to in their own time. Go with the flow, cut out more force and just enjoy the adventure, I guess!

We’re so lucky to be able to work on our dreams in this exciting digital day and age.

7 comments

We really are our own worst critic. We put pressure on ourselves and compare our journeys to others…we are all guilty of doing this at some point in our journey. I am currently going through some changes and that includes in my creative career as well. It’s so important to have like minded people who you can talk to and ask for advice. When I met Melissa this week she gave e me some tips and I am so grateful for them. I’m also so grateful for the tips and reminders you give me that we are only human and things take time to happen. Thank you as always for this amazing blog post.

It’s hard to hear, I know… we’re ambitious and we want to change the world RIGHT NOW! But, things really DO take time. It’s something I’ve got to remind myself every single day and just do my best to enjoy the moment and the whole journey. I think we need to document our days more – our highs and struggles, then we’ll have something incredible to look back on in 6 months time and see how far we’ve really come! Thanks for reading and your support as always my friend. Keep creating and doing YOU! xx

Gosh, Melanie! It’s like you’re inside my mind.
My biggest fear is not having enough time to do everything I want to do, but I know I’m not doing myself any favours by being an over-ambitious creative. I need to narrow my focus and SIMPLIFY!
P.S. I’m obsessed with your blog design.
xoxo

Haha, I hear you Raylene! I’m not a fan of regret at all… I really used to think filling up my notebook to the max with goals that I HAD to check off each day was *everything.* But goodness, it’s exhausting! SIMPLIFYING is where it’s at, yes, yes, yes!! I’m so with there. That’s a HUGE compliment coming from you, because your website is absolutely gorgeous, thank you! 🙂 xx

LOL…what was that about blogging every 2-3 weeks and length? Hehehe…I feel ya, girl. I so feel ya. I’m struggling with this right now as I type. I (still) have 100 pages of reading, a research article to find and summarize, and another meditation exercise to create, plus watching 2 teleseries (1.5 hours each) and an online quiz to take all before Monday morning. Yeah, and I want to fit a blog post in there.
Soo…(twiddles fingers)…I have already cut out a lot. The thought of cutting out a weekly blog post? 😳 Eep! But I may have to, to keep the balance, you know. We’ll see how this weekend goes. LOL. On the one hand I’m like “hard work pays off!” on the other hand I’m like, “wait a minute…I’m stressing about meditation.” 🧐 Guess it’s time to do some re-evaluating. My course is only for two months more…lol

Lol!! You got me, it’s a work in progress 😉 Aaaah, I know things are super crazy your side right now, but like you say – it’s only two months. You’ve totally got this, friend! I’m going to keep reminding you of this, because I love you like that – so here goes: “You are not superwoman. You can take a break from blogging. It will still be there when you get back; so will your engaged, awesome community. They will understand. They will probably be inspired by your commitment to balance and focus on your course. Content is more than your blog. Look at all you’re putting out on Twitter! You have permission to be KIND to yourself, create more space and give yourself the grace to scale back on things temporarily.” Okay, I think I got that off my chest haha! Thinking of you, good luck my friend! xx

What a wonderful post! So insightful and so true. I needed to read this right now and I’m sharing it too. And what you say about success is perfect. I don’t need to add any more, I agree with every word you say. Cheers!

Hey, hey! I’m Melanie, the creative behind Imagine You. We’re all about self care, mindset, real talk and personal growth here. On the blog, you’ll find topics, tips and talks on doing what you love, balancing everyday life and feeling great about yourself – no matter where you’re at in your journey. Grab a cuppa and get inspired, join the community or chat and come say “hi!” I’m so glad you’re here!